BiblioAddict

On random, miscellaneous links and what happens at 69:

This is not even remotely book-related but, what’s wrong with people? ‘Fish and Chips’? Really? The only time names like that are funny is when they’re given to your dogs.

UPDATE: And more…

Who knew an American accent was so hard? I’ve always thought of myself having a regional accent (my East Coast friends still delight in pointing out my Midwestern twang), but my having an American accent is something I very rarely consider.

I laughed out loud when I saw this. This is definitely one for my cubicle at work.

(Doesn’t the fact that he’s working as a cashier only make the cartoon so much more poignant?)

Raymond Chandler is 120 today. Don’t forget to wish him a happy birthday! What would you get him for his big day? Personally, I think Tod Goldberg might be on to something.

Speaking of which, doesn’t it just suck that that last link came from the LA Times, which has to decided to give its standalone book review section the ax? “Sad part? Nobody’s gonna miss the thing. Nobody misses anything anymore. Until it’s too late.” (And more on newspapers not fulfilling their debt of honor.)

And, I want one! I want one! Sadly, my landlord does not have a sense of adventurous intrigue.

I think this is a great way for bookstores to get in on the 24-hour read-a-thon fun. I’m starting a petition for one of the indie bookstores in DC to participate. Anyone else wanna sign on?

Finally, Charlotte Stretch says that instead of waiting until you’re knee-deep into a book to find out if you like it or not, just go to page 69. Since that exercise is just too good to pass up here’s my page 69 from a book I’m reading:

The new pack takes another ride,
the vans packed tight.
Bone spends a moment missing
the luxury of the cars he rode in with Lark.
But these days won’t stand for such sentimental thinking.
He drives on.

It’s late when they pull up at a farm just outside Oxnard.
Doors open and out of the ten passenger vans leap
a crowd of angry K-9s.
A few steps later and they’ve already leapt the ranch gate.

Ray and Sasha head up to the big house,
The rest have strict orders:
stick with Jackson, cross the fence
kill everything in the field.
They charge the thin lines of the electric fence,
meeting the jolt head on.
The current just gets them going.

The wet grass feels cool beneath the paw.
Bone hears something big shudder across the dark lawn.
Four animals stand there.
Stupid big llama or camel-like beasts,
their eyes awash in alarm.
He remembers these. They’re called alpacas.
Moving in fast, he bares his teeth, aiming for the knee
where he bites down quick to force the break.
His cousin in Colorado used to raise them for their coats.

From Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow

I don’t know how well this works for other books, but the above excerpt is fairly representative of the rest of book, and I’m loving every page of it. What’s on your page 69?